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Board OKs temporary waiver to accept church donations to clear student lunch debt
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Summary
The board approved a temporary waiver to district donation rules to allow Church of the Brethren and area churches to donate to a campaign that will pay off student lunch debt; CFO told the board total negative balances are roughly $34,000 and 328 students carry debt.
The Elizabethtown Area School District board voted unanimously to permit a community campaign to eliminate student lunch debt by temporarily waiving parts of district policy.
Board members approved a motion to waive the requirement that individual donors complete the district donation form and the requirement that donations over $1,000 receive prior board approval for contributions designated explicitly for student lunch‑debt relief between Dec. 1, 2025 and the end of the 2025–26 school year.
CFO Tom Strickler told the board the district’s total lunch debt was roughly $34,000; he broke that down as about $4,500 in negative balances for families who have since qualified for free and reduced meals and roughly $30,000 in additional overdue balances. Amy Carr, representing Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, said 328 students currently carry lunch debt that ranges from 10¢ to just over $900 and urged community donations.
The motion was made and seconded; the board then took a roll‑call vote and recorded all members as voting yes. The motion specified that the waiver would apply only to donations explicitly designated for student lunch‑debt relief and would not alter any other parts of policy 07/2002.
The CFO noted that negative cafeteria balances cannot legally be paid from cafeteria funds and must be handled from the general fund if the district writes them off, meaning any district-financed write-off would affect general fund budgeting.
Next steps: The board accepted the waiver and will receive any donations under the described conditions. Administration will work with the church organizers on implementation and accounting.
